nanosecond

noun

nano·​sec·​ond ˈna-nə-ˌse-kənd 

-kənt

1

: one billionth of a second

2

: a very brief moment

Did you know?

The nonserious use of nanosecond is probably much more common than the proper technical use. In measurement terms such as nanosecond, nanogram, and nanometer, nano- means "billionth;" in other kinds of words, its meaning isn't quite so precise. In computers, the speed of reading and writing to random access memory (RAM) is measured in nanoseconds. By comparison, the speed of reading or writing to a hard drive or a CD-ROM player, or for information to travel over the Internet, is measured in milliseconds (thousandths of a second), which are a million times longer than nanoseconds.

Synonyms

• beat
• eyeblink
• flash
• heartbeat
• instant
• jiff
• jiffy
• minute
• moment
• New York minute
• second
• shake
• split second
• trice
• twinkle
• twinkling
• wink

Examples of nanosecond in a Sentence

It happens in less than a nanosecond.

a nanosecond was about all that it took her to accept his marriage proposal

Recent Examples on the Web

Today, they are being eclipsed by high-frequency trading firms like Jane Street, Citadel Securities, DRW, and XTX Markets, which have transformed trading into a match of the best algorithms—often won by nanoseconds. —Daniel Schlaepfer, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2024

What happens if one of them gets a signal that is delayed by 200 nanoseconds? —IEEE Spectrum, 11 Dec. 2024

The Associated Press | J. Scott Applewhite In the House, big issues can linger behind closed doors for years while smaller flashpoints erupt in nanoseconds. —Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 21 Nov. 2024

Well, as of this nanosecond, the Guardians’ rotation is: Ben Lively, Gavin Williams, Carlos Carrasco and – wait, no, that’s all. —Zack Meisel, The Athletic, 9 Aug. 2024

Word History

Etymology

International Scientific Vocabulary

First Known Use

1958, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

nanosecond

noun

nano·​sec·​ond ˈnan-ə-ˌsek-ənd 

-ənt

: one billionth of a second

Medical Definition

nanosecond

noun

nano·​sec·​ond -ˌsek-ənd, -ənt 

: one billionth of a second

—abbreviation ns, nsec